“They are coming.” ~ Our Volvo Ocean Race Miami Stop-over team’s over-used catch phrase!!!

The top story in the world of  North America and it’s Southern Florida sailing enthusiasts is just that: the Volvo Ocean Race IS COMING to Downtown Miami’s Bicentennial Park. We’ve all been counting down! People from ALL walks of life are filing into the City of Miami. Buildings and interactive exhibits are rising from the earth despite wretched weather. Crews of men (and a few ladies!) have been braving high winds and driving rain for last few days to transform the Bayfront Park into Downtown Miami’s Race Village and Marina.

What’s all this business about a Volvo Ocean Race? What exactly is it?

For starters, the Volvo Ocean Race is a ridiculously AWESOME 37,000 nautical-mile sailboat race AROUND the globe. Yes, AROUND this little world we all live on! There are six teams, one missing from this leg, but WILL rejoin us here in Miami on or around May 11th. That leaves us with five teams making their way here ( Click on the image below for some interesting scoop on who is leading, who is not, and how far they are from Miami!)

Each of those “little boats” illustrated in the image above is ACTUALLY a 70 foot long carbon fiber beast designed to be pushed to the limits by ten sailors, with the addition of an eleventh crew member who’s WHOLE job is to document all that can, and DOES happen on these NOT so little boats. This 11th crew is referred to as the Media Crew Member (MCM,) and plays a role similar to what the camera crews do on the boats featured on Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, but honestly… far SCARIER things happen on these boats!!

So, this is pretty cool but WHEN do they arrive into Miami?!?

For the moment, and this is subject to change, we are expecting these guys to arrive into Port Miami on, or around Wednesday May 9th. For all you power boating fans, these folks are under FULL sail (that means NO ENGINE) and ONLY the winds generated by “Mother Nature” propel them to us. Therefore, they are at “her” mercy (she can be brutally unfair at times!) Can hear you all asking, “well then, how will we know WHEN they are going to arrive?!?“

You will all just have to do as the die-hard sailing fan does: visit the Volvo Ocean Race Tracker and obsess over the smartphone apps! You can also follow along with us on Facebook and Twitter (let my over-caffinated self do the work for you!!)

What should it all look like? What IS a Volvo Ocean Race Village?

The Downtown Miami Race Village is a FREE PUBLIC event. Picture something along the lines of a waterfront festival. There are interactive exhibits, live entertainment that ranges from antique cars and boats, to live musical events. There are MANY area hotels, and extensive public transportation that delivers guests to within short distances of the Village Entrance at 1075 Biscayne Blvd, across the street from Marquis Residences Miami. One particular service is the City of Miami Trolley. They have been, and will continue to offer free rides along their Biscayne-Brickell Route.

The information we can put out there is pretty endless, so the BEST way to get really dialed in, is to join us over on Facebook and lets have a chat! Otherwise, SAVE THESE DATES: May 6th thru the 20th!!!…

One Leg Closer to Miami Florida.

This Saturday, January 14th, 66 sailors from around the globe, participating in the Volvo Ocean Race will leave Abu Dhabi and embark on the 5,294 miles to Sanya China. They will cross the Bay of Bengal, a historic body of water that according to the world of Wiki, claims to be the location where in 1850, the American clipper brig ‘Eagle’ sank. It’s the largest bay in the world, forming the northeastern corner of the Indian Ocean.

From there, they will tackle a tricky strip of water called the Malacca Straight, sandwiched between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In past, it’s been well recognized as an area of high piracy due to the wealth of goods shipped from India to Western ports. In modern day, albeit an area of high traffic, one of the safer stretches for today’s mariners. It will however be an extremely tricky passage for our sailors. The winds are fickled. There will be large shipping vessels that will barely notice a 70 foot sailing ship, and fishing boats without equipment to even see an Open Volvo 70 sailing towards them!

Once they exit the straight, it becomes a more arduous sail North to China’s own “Hawaiian” island destination of Sanya. Though it will still be winter in the northern hemisphere, it’s tropical location of 18° 15′ N latitude has it nearly the same distance North of the equator as the American island of Hawaii, and hence the nickname! When the sailors arrive to this beautiful venue, they will have completed leg three and one more stage closer to joining us in Miami.

Meet the Sailors in Bicentennial Park!

For many in North America, Sanya, China is a long trip to meet these adventurers. Now, if we either stay put here in Miami, or plan a small holiday, they will come to us in just under 120 days! Now’s a great time to start planning your trip to Southern Florida! Whether on your own, a young couple, or outgoing family. Our town has everything from the Metrozoo, to the Miami Heat. Easy access to both the Biscayne and Everglades National Parks. Some of the world’s most beautiful stretch of beaches. Love food? After welcoming the sailors, one could easily spend the rest of their travels exploring the area like a local, and dining at award winning restaurants.

However, don’t stray too far! While the Volvo Ocean Race is in town, the place to “Sea and B Seen” will be Bicentennial Park. All the action kicks – off May 6th and if you follow us on Twitter or join the conversation on Facebook, we’ll help you plan your trip to Miami. Check back often, and stay connected to the 66 amazing individuals racing their respective 70 foot sailboats to Miami. Together, we’ll all making the one and only North American stop-over for this historical race an event to remember.…

The Unpredictable Plot

The Volvo Ocean Race is a nine month story for the armchair sailor, while being a “choose-your-own-adventure” for the participating teams. At home, we enjoy creature comforts. We play the virtual game, pretending to live a life at the extreme, meanwhile tending to family, work, and drier amenities. The teams carry the weight of the world as they race around it trying to out play, out maneuver, and out sail their competitors.

Currently, this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race has the Spanish team of Telefonica leading the scoreboard and out sailing the entire fleet with the rare instance when the French team of Groupama snuck past them on the final sprint into Abu Dhabi. Each team chooses how they sail. They choose which course of action they feel gives them the winning edge. Each team has their own way of racing around the globe. Who will be the overall winner?

No different than a novel, it’s too early to say how the ending will be. Unlike a book, we can’t sneak a peek at the last chapter to see who will be the winner. Thank goodness, because what fun would it be if we had the whole story figured out. Instead, we have the opportunity to be apart of this tale. We have time to watch the story develop, learn more about the teams and their sailors: people from around the globe with a passion for adventure.

Coming to Miami, Florida

It seems fitting that this race and it’s participants would make their way to Miami, Florida. One of the most international cities in the world. A town full of people from all walks of life. Each capable of relating to this cast of characters. If you’ve ever played a sport, attempted something that scares you, have a family, or started your own business; each of you has something in common with the members of anyone of the teams participating in the Volvo Ocean Race.

This event, coming to Miami in early May, is built up of people just like any one person reading this blog post. They are fathers, brothers, sons, and best friends to someone. They are doing their job to the best of their abilities. They are working as a team to win, and achieve something greater than themselves. They are dealing with Mother Nature and a daily unknown. They are people, just like you and I.

The residents and guest of Miami will get to meet these amazing crews any day after May 6th, and their story on how they’ve gotten to Miami will be unique and special. It will be thrilling and emotional. We have no idea who will be the first to arrive, but all we hope is they all arrive safely! We hope to be gracious host. For many, this will be their first time to our exotic city, full of history and heritage. Their families will patiently wait at Bicentennial Park for their arrival and we will all be there to support them.

Be Apart of the Story

We are but a chapter in the Volvo Ocean Race, and by getting involved, you become a supporting member to it’s story. The team in Miami is feverishly preparing for their arrival and we hope you’ll lend a hand in making our contribution remarkable. In the mean-time, stop back often as we continue to learn more about each team and it’s sailors. It’s our hope to help you better connect with the race, and it’s sailors. The “characters” who will continue to capture our imaginations for the next 120+ days.

You can further interact with us and the event by visiting our Fan Page and following us on Twitter. We are extremely excited to be the only North American stop-over for this historic event. Thank you for being apart of its story!

Current Rankings (1/10/2012)

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ALICANTE, Spain – After some friendly jousting in the calm waters off the Alicante coast, it’s time for the real racing to begin in the Volvo Ocean Race.  [Fuente: Miami Herald]

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ALICANTE, Spain – Two of the six boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have temporarily stopped racing due to a broken mast and damaged hull inside the first 24 hours of the opening leg and amid brutal sea conditions in the Mediterranean. [Fuente: Miami Herald]

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El pasado 5 de noviembre comenzó la gran regata VOLVO OCEAN RACE que tuvo su salida del puerto de Alicante, en España, y que en su primera etapa incluye un recorrido de unas 6.500 millas náuticas hasta Sudáfrica. [Fuente: Noticias España Miami]
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Volvo Ocean Race team Puma Ocean Racing powered by BERG Propulsion’s new Volvo Open has visited Miami, USA, after being on the water for three weeks.

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This most-extreme sportis not for those that possess“sanity,” at least in the traditionalsense. Most boatersstridently avoid storms;Read and his 10 crewmateswill seek them out. (That’swhere the strongest windsare found.)Come October, essentialeveryday items will becomeneedless — if not impossible— luxuries. Stufflike clean clothes. Like anight of undisturbed sleep.Heck, like a shower or anormal-sized toothbrush.

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Tory Read was just agrade-schooler the last timeher dad got the crazy idea torace around the world in a70-foot carbon fiber yacht.

“I don’t think my daughterwas old enough to figureout, every time I left thedock, ‘Hey, this could be thelast time I see Dad,’ ” KenRead said.

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MIAMI — The 70-foot open Puma boat Mar Mostro made a stop at the Port of Miami on Friday to allow localcity leaders and VIPs a chance to tour the vessel.

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Itajaí – A cidade de Itajaí se despede dos velejadores, equipes e imprensa que participam da décima primeira edição da Volvo Ocean Race no dia 22 de abril de 2012.

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Top Photo from left to right : Commodore Stephen Monynhan, Captain Ken Read, and Commodore Tom Piper.
Photo on the bottom left: from left to right: Miami- Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and Captain Ken Read.
Photo on the bottom righ:, from left to right: Mayor Tomas Regalado and City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff

Two of Miami’s oldest and most prestigious yacht clubs were on hand to welcome the Puma Mar Mostro to the Port of Miami in May. Biscayne Bay Yacht Club Commodore Tom Piper and Coral Reef Yacht Club Commodore Stephen Monynhan greeted the 70-foot vessel skippered by Ken Read. Both commodores offered club burgees to the Mar Mostro to thank Read as well as show their gratitude to the Volvo Ocean Race for choosing Miami as the only North American stopover.

“We are pleased to welcome the Mar Mostro to Miami,” said David Pina, president of Volvo Ocean Race Miami. “Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coral Reef Yacht Club have been hosting Miami regattas since the late 1800s and are proud to be a part of the Volvo Ocean Race.”

Also present was Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, who praised the event and the exposure the global regatta will bring to the city.

“It is especially gratifying to see The Volvo Ocean Race select Miami as a featured stopover. With billions of viewers around the world watching, it will clearly be seen why our city is recognized as a jewel in the international sailing community,” Regalado said. “Aside from the exposure of Miami to the world, the Volvo Ocean Race can inspire, motivate, educate and share with the South Florida community and all over the U.S. that anything is possible through hard work and determination including sailing around the world at record speeds,” the mayor added.

City of Miami Commission Chairman, Marc Sarnoff thanked all on hand for their efforts to bring the race to Miami’s waters in May 2012.

“The Volvo Ocean Race is by far the world’s premier global race. It’s a great honor to have Miami selected as a featured stopover,” Sarnoff said. “We actively pursued this bid to showcase our city as an international destination for sailors, uniquely characterized by our diverse culture and tropical location.”

The Volvo Ocean Race Miami is pleased to announce a top sponsor has come on board.

Located across Biscayne Boulevard from Bicentennial Park where festivities will take place for the Volvo Ocean Race 2012 Miami stopover is downtown’s luxury residential condominium, Marquis Residences. With unmatched 360 degree views of Downtown Miami, Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay, this 67-story building was designed by world renowned architects at Arquitectonica. The award-winning residences offer unparalleled amenities, including a 14th-floor sky and pool deck with Asian-inspired gardens, cabanas and juice bar, exclusively designed bathrooms and European gourmet kitchens. Marquis Residences and Tempo Miami, its 70- suite on-site boutique hotel, offers its guests and residents an 8,000 square foot RockResort spa, fitness center, a fine dining restaurant, cocktail lounge, andpersonal concierge services.

“This is a wonderful and exciting event for Miami,” says Lori Levine Ordover, president of The Ordover Group-a consultant for Africa-Israel USA, the developer of Marquis.

“We are ready to embrace the global audience that this event will attract to the city and believe that our residences will provide a perfect view of the site for this 14-day festival, Beyond Water.”

Sponsors and partners for the two-week festival in May 2012 are gaining momentum for this globally recognized extreme sailing race. When the seven teams participating in the Volvo Ocean Race arrive from Itajai, Brazil, they will be welcomed by a 24-hour music and entertainment event followed by 14 days of ongoing outdoor activities at Miami’s Bicentennial Park.

Marquis Residences is crowned by the “Biscayne Beacon” light sculpture, a 16-story work of art that allows the luxury condominium to become a landmark for the Magic City’s skyline. The residences will light the way for what will be the longest event ever in Miami, one that will draw an anticipated audience of 1.3 billion viewers from around the world.

Marquis Residences is located at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132. Marquis Residence’s Sales Center is open daily. Prices start in the upper $500′s for a two bedroom residence. Exclusive sales and marketing is managed by Cervera Real Estate. For more information about Marquis Residences visit www.marquis-miami.com or call the Sales Center at 305.571.4000.

Follow Marquis on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MarquisResidences

Follow Marquis on Twitter at http://twitter.com/marquisres

Follow Marquis on Tumblr at http://marquisresidences.tumblr.com/

Sometimes it takes a village to make things right. The City of Miami is creating one for the Volvo Ocean Race, and it’s making progress. The Volvo Ocean Racing Village, located in the heart of Downtown Miami, will welcome the fleet during the stopover as well as host Beyond Water, a 14-day series of concerts and water events designed to not only mark the stopover but also, to raise awareness of Earth’s most precious resource–our oceans.

Volvo Ocean Race Miami Operations Director Don Poole and his team of Alan Pruett, Ryan Alexander and Dan Tinney recently unveiled the layout and design of the 20-acre village in Bicentennial Park.

“The village has really taken shape,” Poole says.

Planning is moving forward.

“The documents are being assembled for the permitting process for the city,” says Dan Tinney, architect of Dan Tinney & Associates.

The village will include temporary exhibit pavilions, parking areas, a V.I.P. reception area, public cafés, dock space for the racing boats, temporary bleachers for viewing events and a large scale stage production to host multiple concerts

The Volvo Ocean Race Miami Website, www.volvooceanracemiami.org, is up and running. Track the race after its launch in Alicante, Spain, and keep up to date with Miami’s progress as it prepares to welcome the fleet from May 6-20, 2012.

Sponsors, city officials and race fans alike can …

The World’s Premier Round the Globe Sailing Race to Make only North American Stop in Miami

Prestigious Volvo Ocean 2012 Race Selects South Florida as One of Only 8 Stopovers in the World and Attracts Global Television Audience of 1.3 Billion Viewers

(Miami, FL)— Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff joined Volvo CEO Knut Frostad, and Volvo Ocean Race Commercial Director Greg Miall to announce that the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race will arrive in the City of Miami as part of the round the world competition.

The Volvo Ocean Race is the only professional sailing event that visits ports around the world and has received bids from more than 80 cities worldwide to host stopovers. “We have carefully evaluated bids from ports around the world before making our final decisions. We are very pleased to have Miami onboard and are confident the city will shine brightly under the global spotlight,” says Volvo CEO Knut Frostad.

“The Volvo Ocean Race is by far the world’s premier global race. It’s a great honor to have Miami selected as a featured stopover,” says Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff. “We actively pursued this bid to showcase our city as an international destination for sailors, uniquely characterized by our diverse culture and tropical location.”

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado strongly supported the successful bid. “It is especially gratifying to see The Volvo Ocean Race select Miami as a featured stopover. With billions of viewers around the world watching, it will clearly be seen why our City is recognized as a jewel in the international sailing community.”

“Aside from the exposure of Miami to the world, the Volvo Ocean Race can inspire, motivate, educate and share with the South Florida community and all over the U.S. that anything is possible through hard work and determination including sailing around the world at record speeds,” adds the Mayor.

The City of Miami has a rich history of sailing and is recognized around the world for its highly competitive sailing community. The City is home to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team’s training center and hosts the Olympic Classes Regatta. From Ft. Lauderdale to the north, Miami and south to Key West, South Florida is one of the largest boating communities in the U.S. The U.S. Sailing Center, Coral Reef Yacht Club, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Lauderdale Yacht Club and Shake-a-leg host many of the largest and most prestigious sailing regattas in the U.S.

The Race Village will be located in Bicentennial Park. The Village features support pavilions for each team, along with entertainment and activities for the public. The park is centrally located between Downtown Miami and South Beach, adjacent to the American Airlines Arena, Home of the Miami Heat Basketball team. Florida has hosted the event four times previously: Ft Lauderdale 1989-90, 1993-94,1997-98, Miami 2001-02

Joining Miami as race stopover port cities will be Alicante, Spain; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Cape Town, South Africa; Lisbon, Portugal; Lorient, France; and Galway, Ireland.

About the race: The Volvo Ocean Race is an exceptional test of sailing prowess and human endeavour which has been built on the spirit of great seafarers – fearless men who sailed the world’s oceans aboard square rigged clipper ships more than a century ago.
Each team , sailing 70′ custom designed boats, comprises a professional crew, and the race requires their utmost skills, physical endurance and competitive spirit as they race day and night for more than 30 days at a time on some of the legs. They will each take on different jobs onboard the boat and on top of these sailing roles, there will be two sailors that have had medical training, as well as a sailmaker, an engineer and a media specialist.

The race is the ultimate mix of world class sporting competition and on the edge adventure, a unique blend of onshore glamour with offshore drama and endurance.
America has fielded 10 entries and 94 athletes from the USA have competed in this race. The race has twice been won by an American: Paul Cayard in 1997-98 skipper of EF Language and John Kostecki in 2001-02 skipper of illbruck. PUMA, skippered by Ken Read, was second in 2008-09 and Pirates of the Caribbean was second in 2006-06 skippered by Paul Cayard. Famous America’s Cup skipper, Dennis Conner, was the co-skipper of Winston in 1993-94 and Toshiba in 1997-98.

For more information contact Daisy Lewis at (786) 399-9669

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